Discussion
My 2013 Cayenne GTS is in need of pads. Well at least that’s what I was told. None of the wear indicators have triggered but when I looked I’d guess 3mm left. It does not need disks though as they are not showing a lot of wear. I know my dealer will insist on changing both as a package and the price will hit north of $3k. That seems unnecessary to me so I’m looking at options. I can buy the OEM pads for about $400. I have no issue with the OEM pads performance but the insane amount of dust is annoying. I hear a lot of good things about EBC yellow pads which would be similar price, on par, or even better, performance with significantly less dust.
Has anyone deviated from OEM? Any recommendations or experience with Yellow pads? Warranty is not an issue as it ran out this year and Porsche US don’t care. My car was on the wrong tyres and had been serviced by independents for 20k miles when I took it in for a CEL. I expected them to take the deeds to my house but instead they couldn’t be more helpful. It took 2 weeks to repair and for that time I had a Macan GTS. All covered under the warranty I thought I did not have.
My next challenge is getting the pads fitted. I’ve just been quoted $600 to fit them by one place because “these are electronic. We have to hook up the machine to get them off”. Really? Is that why you charged me $25 for a puncture repair on my VW and $44 in my Porsche? Porsche tax at its best.
Has anyone deviated from OEM? Any recommendations or experience with Yellow pads? Warranty is not an issue as it ran out this year and Porsche US don’t care. My car was on the wrong tyres and had been serviced by independents for 20k miles when I took it in for a CEL. I expected them to take the deeds to my house but instead they couldn’t be more helpful. It took 2 weeks to repair and for that time I had a Macan GTS. All covered under the warranty I thought I did not have.
My next challenge is getting the pads fitted. I’ve just been quoted $600 to fit them by one place because “these are electronic. We have to hook up the machine to get them off”. Really? Is that why you charged me $25 for a puncture repair on my VW and $44 in my Porsche? Porsche tax at its best.
Okay, first - what a load of BS. $600 just in labour to change the pads? I take it this is for all four corners? Nuts. Any mechanic who can't get this done in 2 - 3 hours needs a slap. You don't even have to take the callipers off!
Second - also BS. Unless replacing the Parking Brake pads and / or the rear discs, that mechanism isn't even touched.
I'm basing this on knowledge from the 911 side, but I'd guess that EBC Yellows will need a bit more work to get up to temperature in normal driving, so you'll need to bear this in mind. Hopefully there's a Cayenne owner out there who can lend some real-world experience on this.
Note - 3mm left is fine for a bit longer but if the warning is triggered, you'll have to stump up for new sensor wires as well as new pads, because they're a 'destructible' part.
Second - also BS. Unless replacing the Parking Brake pads and / or the rear discs, that mechanism isn't even touched.
I'm basing this on knowledge from the 911 side, but I'd guess that EBC Yellows will need a bit more work to get up to temperature in normal driving, so you'll need to bear this in mind. Hopefully there's a Cayenne owner out there who can lend some real-world experience on this.
Note - 3mm left is fine for a bit longer but if the warning is triggered, you'll have to stump up for new sensor wires as well as new pads, because they're a 'destructible' part.
I've just had EBC yellows fitted to one of my BMW estates. They work great from cold and no weird noises. Feel very good on the move and no thoughts about not stopping. No idea about dust as car is filthy. EBC do a less aggressive compound which is marketed by them as low dust - cant remember name ... ultimax
www.ebcbrakeshop.co.uk
As an idea on price for fitting only i paid 400 for 4 corner pads, 6 new Goodrich flexis, some new copper hard lines and 2 corner front discs replaced.
www.ebcbrakeshop.co.uk
As an idea on price for fitting only i paid 400 for 4 corner pads, 6 new Goodrich flexis, some new copper hard lines and 2 corner front discs replaced.
It’s good to hear the yellow EBCs work well. I think they used to market reds for heaven cars but they suffered from brake fade.
I have now familiarized myself with the procedure of changing the pads. As was mentioned by another poster, this gen Cayenne has enclosed calipers that need to come off to change the pads. If everything comes undone easily, it would be extremely easy to do this change. I’m expecting pain trying to get the bolts lose though.
However, as the calipers come off and there are only 2 screws holding the disk on, I have decided to do the disks as well. EBC do an anodized black disk which is a replacement for the one I have on. The extra cost of the disk when bought as part of a package was negligible so I’m going for the full challenge. I have bought all the parts and tools except torque wrench and jack stands. Those my friend will be supplying. If all goes well though I will be buying them and doing my wife’s car when required.
Doing it my self will cost about $600 including tools. That’s a saving of between $2500 and $4500 on taking it to Porsche. That’s outrageous.
I have now familiarized myself with the procedure of changing the pads. As was mentioned by another poster, this gen Cayenne has enclosed calipers that need to come off to change the pads. If everything comes undone easily, it would be extremely easy to do this change. I’m expecting pain trying to get the bolts lose though.
However, as the calipers come off and there are only 2 screws holding the disk on, I have decided to do the disks as well. EBC do an anodized black disk which is a replacement for the one I have on. The extra cost of the disk when bought as part of a package was negligible so I’m going for the full challenge. I have bought all the parts and tools except torque wrench and jack stands. Those my friend will be supplying. If all goes well though I will be buying them and doing my wife’s car when required.
Doing it my self will cost about $600 including tools. That’s a saving of between $2500 and $4500 on taking it to Porsche. That’s outrageous.
h0b0 said:
It’s good to hear the yellow EBCs work well. I think they used to market reds for heaven cars but they suffered from brake fade.
I have now familiarized myself with the procedure of changing the pads. As was mentioned by another poster, this gen Cayenne has enclosed calipers that need to come off to change the pads. If everything comes undone easily, it would be extremely easy to do this change. I’m expecting pain trying to get the bolts lose though.
However, as the calipers come off and there are only 2 screws holding the disk on, I have decided to do the disks as well. EBC do an anodized black disk which is a replacement for the one I have on. The extra cost of the disk when bought as part of a package was negligible so I’m going for the full challenge. I have bought all the parts and tools except torque wrench and jack stands. Those my friend will be supplying. If all goes well though I will be buying them and doing my wife’s car when required.
Doing it my self will cost about $600 including tools. That’s a saving of between $2500 and $4500 on taking it to Porsche. That’s outrageous.
You don't really need a torque wrench or jack stands but good for you. They make these jobs easy when they design these modern cars. You could think about fluid change too as it's meant to be done every couple of years. I have now familiarized myself with the procedure of changing the pads. As was mentioned by another poster, this gen Cayenne has enclosed calipers that need to come off to change the pads. If everything comes undone easily, it would be extremely easy to do this change. I’m expecting pain trying to get the bolts lose though.
However, as the calipers come off and there are only 2 screws holding the disk on, I have decided to do the disks as well. EBC do an anodized black disk which is a replacement for the one I have on. The extra cost of the disk when bought as part of a package was negligible so I’m going for the full challenge. I have bought all the parts and tools except torque wrench and jack stands. Those my friend will be supplying. If all goes well though I will be buying them and doing my wife’s car when required.
Doing it my self will cost about $600 including tools. That’s a saving of between $2500 and $4500 on taking it to Porsche. That’s outrageous.
You will need copper grease - goes where pad meets caliper. On my pics above you can see where the mechanic was a bit liberal with the stuff.
New discs are meant to be cleaned prior to fitting as they can be oiled to prevent corrosion - so you need that too. I've used WD40 in past when i didn't know i needed it so had to substitute.
Finally I'd recommend the box of disposable gloves or shock horror you might get your hands dirty....
ATM said:
You don't really need a torque wrench or jack stands but good for you. They make these jobs easy when they design these modern cars. You could think about fluid change too as it's meant to be done every couple of years.
You will need copper grease - goes where pad meets caliper. On my pics above you can see where the mechanic was a bit liberal with the stuff.
New discs are meant to be cleaned prior to fitting as they can be oiled to prevent corrosion - so you need that too. I've used WD40 in past when i didn't know i needed it so had to substitute.
Finally I'd recommend the box of disposable gloves or shock horror you might get your hands dirty....
Never use wd40 on brake discs as its oil based and will reduce friction co efficient. If you must use it ...always clean it off with a proper brake cleaner to give a nice clean surface for pads to bite ....good luck. Ian You will need copper grease - goes where pad meets caliper. On my pics above you can see where the mechanic was a bit liberal with the stuff.
New discs are meant to be cleaned prior to fitting as they can be oiled to prevent corrosion - so you need that too. I've used WD40 in past when i didn't know i needed it so had to substitute.
Finally I'd recommend the box of disposable gloves or shock horror you might get your hands dirty....
Thank you for the encouragement. Through watching YouTube I had already bought the sensors and brake cleaner.
Regarding lube, snigger, I bought this synthetic stuff
“Permatex Ultra Disc Brake Caliper Lube is an environmentally conscientious, green, non-melting, synthetic lubricant formulated to lubricate under the most adverse brake conditions.”
Does this sound right?
Oh, I don’t mind rolling my sleeves up and digging in but I hate getting my hands that kind of dirty that stays for days. I appreciate this job is almost guaranteed to be one of those but I already have a healthy supply of non-latex work gloves.
Regarding lube, snigger, I bought this synthetic stuff
“Permatex Ultra Disc Brake Caliper Lube is an environmentally conscientious, green, non-melting, synthetic lubricant formulated to lubricate under the most adverse brake conditions.”
Does this sound right?
Oh, I don’t mind rolling my sleeves up and digging in but I hate getting my hands that kind of dirty that stays for days. I appreciate this job is almost guaranteed to be one of those but I already have a healthy supply of non-latex work gloves.
Another friend of mine just got back from Korea where he was serving with the US Army. He has done brakes before and used to own a Porsche. Granted he hadn’t changed the Porsche’s brakes but it was enough for me. I think the list of Porsche owners that do their own brakes extends to PopPopBangBang and myself 
This quote was fresh in my mind
But, with 2 novices and a bit of YouTube it was relatively easy. The front disks needed some persuasion but came off with a couple of wacks.
Also, the rears did not need doing. Unsurprisingly, I was lied to by a “Quick Tire” type of place. (I was only there to get a puncture done. Also, I spelled it the way the locals do). The fronts did need changing though.
Overall, I saved $3k and have a lot of satisfaction. Over the next thousand miles we will see the performance comparison. It may sound strange but I’ve been most happy with the OEM over the last couple of weeks. They used to be a bit grippy so stopping wasn’t smooth but recently they were everything I’d expect. This being after a very hard stop.
This quote was fresh in my mind
h0b0 said:
Oh, I don’t mind rolling my sleeves up and digging in but I hate getting my hands that kind of dirty that stays for days. I appreciate this job is almost guaranteed to be one of those but I already have a healthy supply of non-latex work gloves.
I suspect I will know when to change the disks again when I’m finally clean. But, with 2 novices and a bit of YouTube it was relatively easy. The front disks needed some persuasion but came off with a couple of wacks.
Also, the rears did not need doing. Unsurprisingly, I was lied to by a “Quick Tire” type of place. (I was only there to get a puncture done. Also, I spelled it the way the locals do). The fronts did need changing though.
Overall, I saved $3k and have a lot of satisfaction. Over the next thousand miles we will see the performance comparison. It may sound strange but I’ve been most happy with the OEM over the last couple of weeks. They used to be a bit grippy so stopping wasn’t smooth but recently they were everything I’d expect. This being after a very hard stop.
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